


Missing

by acciocrazychick



Series: The Life and Times of Ziva David [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Family, Gen, Hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 23:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/627582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acciocrazychick/pseuds/acciocrazychick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four year old Ziva David has a solo in her dance recital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone curious, the way to pronounce her dance teacher's name is ahh-DEENA and Ziva's friend's name is pronounced kah-ream. Ziva is still four. Tali is not yet a year old. You will see Kareem in later updates. I know very little about ballet so if any of this information is incorrect, please correct me. Tag to 03x17 "Ravenous". Constructive criticism and feedback is greatly appreciated. Bat means daughter in Hebrew

 

School Gymnasium |Be'er Sheva , Israel

18:00

August 1984

Her second year class, with their array of colorful handmade costumes, followed Miss Yadina in a single line. Miss Yadina Eshel was a pretty young woman in her early twenties. She had light brown hair with light brown eyes, petite and had very cherry disposition.

When Ziva stood on her mark, she looked out and there in the front row was her mother, her little sister in her lap, her best friend, Kareem and next to him was an empty hard silver metal chair. Rivka notices Ziva's eyes on the empty chair, hands Tali to Kareem and walks out. Ziva assumes to page her father. He promised he would be there.

A month earlier, when Rivka and Tali were picking Ziva up from school, Miss Yadina asked if she could speak with her parents.

"At our next recital, there will be two solos. Since Ziva is at the top of the class I was wondering if she would like to have a solo." Miss Yadina asked smiling addressing Rivka; pulling back a piece of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun.

"Ziva, come here please." Rivka commands as Ziva runs to her mother. "Would you like to have a dance solo?"

"Will Papa be there this time?" Ziva asks her mother who at her words began fidgeting with her Star of David necklace.

"I sure hope so. Why would he want to miss his daughter's first solo dance" Rivka exclaims trying to sound hopeful for Ziva's sake.

"I will dance the solo." Ziva proclaims jumping up and down as she bends down to tickle her little sister's stomach who is bundled up in her stroller "Guess what Tali? I get to dance a solo in the recital next month. Papa will have to come!"

"I am afraid that if I agree to let my _bat_ do this, she will not dance the solo unless her father shows up." Rivka explains.

"I do not mean to interfere with family matters but what does her father do exactly?" Miss Yadina asks curiously.

"He has been a Mossad operative since I met him." Rivka replies honestly.

"Ziva is an amazing child, somewhat of a tom boy at times but has the ability to do great things such as join the Israeli ballet, if her skills are honed and perfected."

"You really think so?" Rivka asked her eyes going wide.

"She has the build of a wonderful dancer. She is a natural." Miss Yadina replies smiling walking away.

Rivka comes back into the gymnasium and sits down; her face is red as if she had been crying as she picks Tali up and sets her in her lap,

"Ladies and Gentleman, if you do not already know me, my name is Miss Yadina. If you will look in your programs, you will see a list of the dances we will be doing along with all of the dancers' names. Thank you and I hope you enjoy our recital." Miss Yadina introduces backing away from the center of the make shift grey stage.

The music begins; each step she took was perfected, each twist and jump flawless. She looks out to the audience, eyeing her small family minus the one person who she craved to be there.

The rest of the recital blurs together. Her solo goes on without a hitch, perfecting her jumps and spins like a natural. Once her solo is over she hears the audience clap but is only focusing on the man that isn't there. 'I must not cry, I must not cry' she tells her self internally as she dances with the rest of her class.

"Ziva you were amazing!" she hears her mother cry as she runs to grab her eldest daughter in a hug, descending down the stairs.

She smiles grabbing the flowers her mother hands her, hugging her again. She knows that her mother can see her disappointment that her father is not here.

They go out for ice cream along with Kareem on the way home, when they get out of the car she waves to Kareem who walks towards his house. "Come, _bat_ let's get you out of your costume and get you ready for bed" her mother calls from the house rocking Tali back and forth to sleep.

After she is changed and has brushed her teeth, she hears voices coming from her father's study.

"You knew that there was a chance that I could not make it, Rivka. I will explain to Zivalah in the morning why I did not come to her recital."

"You did not see her up there on stage. The minute she walked out and saw you were not there. Her eyes, Eli..." Rivka tries to explain.

"Speaking of that, I want her to stop taking dance lessons. She needs to start learning foreign languages', not just Arabic or Hebrew. I will have Ari help her. She's four years old; she does not need to know how to dance. Dancing is for women who do not need to grow up and defend their country, like Ziva does. I will have Amit train her. She will start stretching and eventually she will start running in the morning..."

"She is just a little girl, Eli. She should not be put under so much stress." Rivka exclaims.

"May I continue?" Eli asks sternly. A nod of his wife's head is all he needs. "As I was saying, she shall begin a rudimentary workout routine that once completed will began to be more complex and complicated.

She listens through the cracked door. If her father wants her to stop taking dance lessons, she will. She will do whatever it takes to please her father. Do whatever it takes to make him proud.

 


End file.
